by When reading Ephesians 4:7-16, it is understandable why the New International Version of the Bible has the pericope, “Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ” (Eph. 4, NIV) and the New King James Version has “Spiritual Gifts” (Eph. 4, NKJV). The passage is about the different spiritual gifts Christ gives to the believers. It also informs everyone that each person is vital to the growth of the church. The Body of Christ represents the churches, where everyone comes together and are always battling evil. For churches to mature, they need followers of Christ with distinct roles. A couple examples include evangelists to skillfully give the gospel and a pastor to teach the Word of God. To summarize, everyone has their part to play in the continued success and growth of the church.
Historical Context
There are several different theories on who authored Ephesians which impact when it was written. Most of them are centered around Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome or Caesarea when Nero was Emperor of Rome. This would have been between AD 54-62 if it were Paul. If it was written by one of the Apostolic Fathers like Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, who wrote seven letters to the churches, then it would be between AD 70-75. Eric Graham states, “We assume therefore that Ephesians, which is in any case the crown of the Pauline writings, is the work of St. Paul himself.”[1]
During this time, Rome was the largest and most powerful city in the world. Steven Collins and Joseph Holden state, “We have now entered the Early Roman period. No matter what direction you look, Rome dominates. . . . It was also a seething mire of immorality, intrigue, murder, and mayhem.”[2] Rome was a powerhouse that bullied the inhabitants it conquered in battle. Once a new territory was won, they would implement their laws and guards to oppress the people and collect taxes from them. The Romans ensured that there was no opportunity for rebellion or any behavior or belief that was in opposition to Rome.[3]
God did not make life easy for Paul as Nero was the emperor when Paul was conducting his missionary work and planting churches. Nero was the most cruel of the tyrants, he ordered the fire in the city to be similar to the burning of Troy. He then amused himself by playing musical instruments and blamed the Christians.[4]
Cultural Context
Ephesians was written when Christianity was oppressed by the Romans and Paul was spreading the word of Christ, specifically in Ephesus. Floyd Filson states, “Many Jewish Christians of Hellenistic background shared in the church’s active outreach into the Greco-Roman world, but Paul did the most to extend that outreach and state the gospel in world terms.”[5] Paul traveled a lot, and sometimes it was by sea, but mostly it was by land. There was a lot of risk when someone traveled. A person had to be in good health as there were no medical facilities, abduction and thievery was probable if the traveler was alone, and rape was another risk for the women.
Timothy Cargal states, “Paul visited the city on the return part of his second missionary journey, staying only briefly (Acts 18:19-21). He returned on his third journey to spend more than two years strengthening the church (Acts 19). The letter to the Ephesians was also intended to strengthen them, making them more conscious of their oneness with Christ.”[6] Paul’s travels were beneficial to his cause as he did gain followers in Christ wherever he went. A consequence of his success was that he was unable to be everywhere at once, he could not always be local to where problems arose. He needed to rely on letters to his people to provide words of encouragement. While in Ephesus for two years spreading the gospel to Jews and Gentiles, he would rent a public hall known as Tyrannus during the midday rest period preaching and teaching.[7] Floyd Filson mentions that Paul was able to do more than just preaching and teaching, “Paul was able to perform numerous miracles. There is no good reason to doubt that he, like Peter, and like Jesus before them both, was able to give health of mind and body to disturbed and diseased people.”[8]
Literary Context
There were four “Prison Epistles” written while Paul was imprisoned. Ephesians is one of them and the other three are Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. Ephesians is the tenth book in the New Testament and contains six chapters. Max Turner describes it as, “Ephesians is breathtaking in its theological grasp of the scope of God’s purposes in Christ for the church. It is a pastorally warm letter and spiritually sensitive in its advice, peaceable in tone and readily overflowing into joyful worship.”[9] The book can be broken into two pieces, the first three chapters are on the doctrine, the riches of Christ, and the last three chapters are on duty and our responsibilities in Christ.[10]
The letter to the churches is not direct or to the point. It has hidden meaning and references other scriptures. For Ephesians 4:7-16, it is a statement that informs everyone, that everything needed for the church, is within the congregation and is a gift from Jesus. The words of encouragement are for each saved person to identify their God given gifts and use them to their fullest potential. William MacDonald explains, “The main subject of Ephesians is what Paul calls ‘the mystery.’ By that he does not mean something that cannot be explained, but rather a wonderful truth never revealed before but now made known. . . . believing Jews and believing Gentiles are now one in Christ Jesus.”[11]
Meaning of the Passage
Ephesians 4:7-16 informs the reader that each believer is given spiritual gifts from Jesus to use towards the growth of the church. For textual analysis, research of each verse or verse group will be done. Then, for textual synthesis, there will be a summary of what the scripture is revealing. Ephesians 4:7-16 from the NASB 2020 is Appendix A as a reference.
Verse 7 starts with “but” to show a shift in focus from the previous pericope.[12] Ephesians 4:1-6 has a different pericope titled “Walk in Unity” (Eph. 4:1-6, NKJV) where the scriptures are using the word “one” to unify everyone together. In verse 7, “one” is used to transition to diversity as deriving from the variety of gifts among the members of the church.[13] The word “us” refers to the believers and “measure of Christ’s gift” means that it is up to Jesus Christ to determine who gets what gifts.[14] Regarding “grace”, Barry states, “In this context, the Greek word used here, charis, likely refers to a believer’s God-given calling and ability to serve in ministry.”[15]
Verse 8 references Psalms 68:15-18. Barry explains, “Psalm 68:15–18 describes God defeating evil at Mount Bashan, which represented the gateway to the underworld in Israelite and Canaanite thought. Paul quotes the psalm to express Christ’s victory over evil powers.”[16] Marshall explains that different words were used, “the verse itself is reinterpreted to refer to the giving rather than the receiving of gifts, just as in rabbinic interpretation of the psalm Moses gave the law to Israel.”[17] This is where Christ is receiving gifts from God which he proceeds to give to his believers.[18]
On verse 9, there is a debate between scholars on the descension as Bruce states that Christ went to Hades and MacDonald has a theory that Christ did not go to Hades.[19] Either way, the message of the passage should remain on the victorious ascension which provided the ability to give gifts.[20] Verse 10 is informing the reader that Christ went above the heavens and fills all things.[21] Christ was limited to only being able to be in one place at a time when he was in human form, but now everyone can enjoy his immediate presence simultaneously, everywhere.[22]
Verses 11-16 are one long complex sentence that is unwieldy where prepositional phrases mix with subordinate clauses and participles.[23] For textual analysis, each verse will be reviewed individually. Verse 11 does not give a list of gifts given to individuals by the Spirit, but kinds of gifted individuals whom Christ gives to the church.[24] The first are apostles who are sent out to establish ministries, then there are prophets who speak the Word of the Lord in the Spirit. Next are evangelists who bring people to Christ. The last part of the scripture has caused some differences of opinion on whether “pastors and teachers” are one person or not. Bruce explains, “The two terms ‘pastors (shepherds) and teachers’ denote one and the same class of men. They are the men who ‘tend the flock of God’ and care for its wellbeing, . . . They are the same people as are elsewhere called elders and bishops.”[25] Another perspective is that they are separated where a church has a pastor and many teachers. MacDonald states, “A man may be a teacher without having the heart of a shepherd. And a pastor may be able to use the word without having the distinctive gift of teaching.”[26] Either way, all the gifts show the diversity of gifting concentrated on the unity of the church.[27]
Verse 12 provides a reason for the gifted individuals, that is to equip the believers so they can be effective in their works of service in ministry and to others.[28] The words “work of ministry” refers to acts of service and “building up the body of Christ” refers to the strengthening and growing of the Church.[29]
Verse 13 is a goal statement to inform the reader what success will look like when doing the work of ministry. The words “unity of the faith, and of the Knowledge of the Son of God” are indicators of a mature church, in which the doctrine of the church is not merely satisfied in word but exhibited as a living reality.[30]
Verse 14 is an outcome statement informing the reader of the benefits when a person is mature in faith. The word “children” symbolically describes those who are immature in the faith. The phrases “wind of doctrine” and “deceitful scheming” refers to false teaching which lead people astray.[31]
Verse 15 is a reminder on how everyone is to act all the time, with “truth in love”. Bruce states, “And gospel truth is never unaccompanied by love. We hear of some people who are ‘all truth and no love,’ but in fact people without love cannot be ‘all truth,’ any more than people without a concern for truth can be ‘all love’ in any serious sense of the term.”[32] The phrase “grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ” is best explained by Bruce as, “A baby’s head is very large in relation to his body, and that his body, as it develops, is really growing up more and more into a due proportion with the head. . . . It is by growing up to match the head that the body of Christ—the believing community—attains ‘the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.’”[33]
Verse 16 notifies the reader that every person is important in the Body of Christ and that each person needs to do their works of service in the ministry to ensure growth in the church and in each other.[34] The last word of the passage is also important as “love” is one of the most critical attitudes a believer can have when growing in faith.
When synthesizing the pieces of the passage, the reader can surmise a few things. One, every believer has been given gifts from Christ. Churches are the Body of Christ, and Christ has given the Churches gifts of people to lead in different ways. Second, to grow the Body of Christ, every person needs to do their works of service in the ministries. Third, when everyone grows, they mature in faith to where they will be lovingly closer to Christ and unable to be misled.
Significance
Ephesians 4:7-16 is important for each Christian and the church because Christ has given spiritual gifts to the church in the form of people to mature the church and all the Christians within it. Every Christian must contribute for the church to reach the full development that God requires. The pastor and teacher, evangelist, and each of the members make up the church and depend on each other to survive and grow. Another crucial activity of the church is fellowship. Lowe and Lowe mention, “At the heart of Bronfenbrenner’s understanding of human growth was the developmental motor of reciprocity. He defined reciprocity as a pattern of ongoing ‘concomitant mutual feedback’ that over time motivates the participants not only to persevere but to engage in progressively more complex patterns of interaction”[35] When used toward the church, the maturity is accelerated through the fellowship interactions. Proverbs supports this idea, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Prov. 27:17, NIV).
Ephesians 4:14-16 mention the many benefits of a mature church. Being able to avoid false teachings and not succumbing to temptations are a couple of them.[36] Wiersbe adds, “Christians today do not get their spiritual knowledge immediately from the Holy Spirit, but mediately through the Spirit teaching the Word.”[37] Courson states, “The church of Jesus Christ exists for three reasons: To exalt God, which is why we sing praises and offer prayer; To edify His people, which is why we study the Word; To evangelize the unsaved, which is why we preach salvation. . . It exists to build the saints so that they, in turn, will do the work of the ministry.”[38]
Application
This is a call to action for each Christian to join a church and assist with the spiritual maturity. The church and its individual members need to grow, and the initial act of salvation does not confer immediate perfection.[39] Lowe and Lowe mention, “Individual spiritual growth is never exclusively individual; it always plays out in some larger spiritual ecology as individual Christians connect to and interact with the Godhead, God’s word, God’s Spirit, and other members of the body of Christ.”[40]
There are many roles and church activities that need involvement and fellowship. Some examples include worship, evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, and leadership. During worship, there might be a choir or band. Evangelism could include outreach activities where the public is invited to attend, or provisions are given to the local community. Discipleship can include Bible Study with different teachers. For fellowship, some opportunities may include field trips and events at the church. A church might have one primary pastor but multiple pastors and deacons to assist with the leadership of the church. Marshall states, “The members of the church grow by feeding on the Word and ministering to each other. The first evidence of spiritual growth is Christlikeness.”[41]
Conclusion
The Christian faith is sometimes misperceived to only be an individual walk with Jesus as opposed to where everyone is requested to glorify God within the Body of Christ. It is easy to read in the Bible about the significance of Christ and the relationship that is needed for salvation, but many overlook the identical language that refers to the union with other Christians who are members of the body of Christ. After all, everything is connected in God’s universe including the spiritual ecology of the church.[42] To summarize, everyone has their part to play in the continued success and growth of the church.
[1] Eric Graham, “The Epistle to the Ephesians,” in A New Commentary on Holy Scripture: Including the Apocrypha (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1942), 538.
[2] Steven Collins and Joseph M. Holden, The Harvest Handbook of Bible Lands (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2019), 273.
[3] Ralph Gower and Fred Wight, The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times (Chicago: Moody Press, 1987), The Roman Army.
[4] William Smith and Eugene Lawrence, The History of Rome from Early Times to the Establishment of the Empire (Luton, England: Andrews U.K. Ltd., 2010), 365.
[5] Floyd V. Filson, A New Testament History (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1952), 199.
[6] Timothy B. Cargal, The Chronological Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2008), 1365.
[7] Filson, A New Testament, 247.
[8] Ibid., 248.
[9] Max Turner, “Ephesians,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1222.
[10] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 34.
[11] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1904.
[12] Douglas Mangum, Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), Eph 4:7–16.
[13] Ernest Best, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians (Edinburgh: T&T Clark International, 1998), 375.
[14] MacDonald, Believer’s Bible, 1934.
[15] John D. Barry, Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Eph 4:7.
[16] Ibid., Eph 4:8.
[17] I. Howard Marshall, “Ephesians” in Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), 1390.
[18] F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Ephesians: A Verse-by-Verse Exposition (Bath, UK: Creative Communications, 2012), 83.
[19] Bruce, The Epistle, 84; MacDonald, Believer’s Bible, 1934.
[20] Mangum, Lexham Context, Eph 4:7–16.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Bruce, The Epistle, 85.
[23] Best, A Critical, 376.
[24] Marshall, “Ephesians”, 1390.
[25] Bruce, The Epistle, 86.
[26] MacDonald, Believer’s Bible, 1935.
[27] Mangum, Lexham Context, Eph 4:7–16.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Barry, Faithlife Study, Eph 4:12.
[30] Bruce, The Epistle, 88.
[31] Barry, Faithlife Study, Eph 4:14.
[32] Bruce, The Epistle, 90.
[33] Ibid., 91.
[34] Wiersbe, The Bible, 38.
[35] Stephen D. Lowe and Mary E. Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth through Online Education (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018), 173.
[36] Mangum, Lexham Context, Eph 4:7–16.
[37] Wiersbe, The Bible, 38.
[38] Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 1251.
[39] Marshall, “Ephesians”, 1390.
[40] Lowe, Ecologies of Faith, 210.
[41] Wiersbe, The Bible, 38.
[42] Lowe, Ecologies of Faith, 137.